Following the Blood

The Bible learned from a Roman soldier, that a man from Galilee was tried and condemned to be crucified at the hill called Golgotha. They proceed to follow a trail of blood left behind by the man.

Author’s Note:

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“Oh, my goodness,” sobbed Mary as she looked at the trail that came out of the Roman fort.

“There’s so much blood,” gasped Liz. The blood trail was about half a foot across and it traveled all the way to the gate exiting Jerusalem.

“What did they do to him?” Carrie asked Daniel.

“It was standard Roman procedure for prisoners to be flogged thirty-nine times with a cat-a-nine-tails,” said Daniel.

“What’s a cat-a-nine-tails?” asked John.

“It resembles a whip, I think,” said Zach.

“A whip would cause this much blood loss?” asked Simon.

“This whip had multiple leather strips,” said Zach, “And on the end of each strip was…”

“What Zach?” asked Simon.

Zach turned pale.

“At the end of each strip was a piece of bone, glass, or metal,” said Daniel solemnly.

Simon looked at the blood trail, “They whipped him thirty-nine times with such a horrible thing?”

Daniel nodded.

“But why?” asked Carrie.

Daniel shook his head, “Let’s keep moving.”

“Simon, I have a bad feeling I know who it is that is being crucified,” said Carrie.

“I know,” said Simon, “But I don’t understand why they would do that to him…I mean, you heard the soldier…he did nothing wrong.”

“He also said that the Jewish leaders wanted him dead,” said Zach.

“But why?” asked Liz.

“Maybe he said things that they didn’t like,” said John, “Do you remember all those Pharisees that we’ve met on this trip and how stuck on themselves they were?”

“You are on the right track John,” said Daniel, “The Pharisees didn’t like him because his teachings were different from theirs and he condemned them for not following God as they should.”

“But still,” said Mary, “That’s not a reason for killing him.”

“Oh my gosh!” exclaimed Carrie. In front of the Bible Jumpers, the solid line of the blood trail exploded into a large puddle of blood.

“It looks like he fell down,” said Zach.

“With that much blood lost, I bet he must be weak,” said John.

“True,” said Daniel, “But you must remember he was also carrying a huge wooden cross with him on the way to Golgotha.”

“A cross?” asked Liz.

Daniel nodded, “A crucifixion is when a person is nailed onto a wooden cross and then lifted up for all to see.”

Liz put her hand over her mouth and fell to her knees.

“Daniel, I need to know,” said Carrie, “Is the man being crucified…Jesus?”

“Is it Jesus?” asked Mary.

“Please tell us,” said Zach.

All their eyes were fixed on him. Daniel took a deep breath.

“We need to keep moving,” said Daniel, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“He’s right,” said Simon, “Let’s go and see who it is they’re crucifying.”

“But we want to know now Simon,” said Carrie.

“So do I,” said Simon, “But I want to see it with my own eyes rather than just have Daniel tell me.”

“Why do you want to see it?” asked Zach, “I read that a crucifixion was a horrible form of execution. Why would you want to see something like that?”

“He’s right Simon,” said John, “I don’t know about you, but the sight of blood makes me sick. I’m surprised that I haven’t thrown up yet.”

“Besides,” said Mary, “Why do you want to see someone die?”

“I don’t want to see someone die,” said Liz, “Why do you?”

“Because…because….,” stammered Simon, “I don’t know why! But something in my heart tells me that I need to see it…. That we all… need to see it.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“That is the reason why we’re here,” said Simon, “To see that the things mentioned in the Bible actually happened.”

“But Simon…,” trailed Carrie.

“If we’ve been sent here for a reason, we must see it through,” he said.

Silence filled the air after Simon spoke. Then Carrie walked up to Simon. Their eyes met. Simon nodded. Carrie nodded back and faced the others, “He’s right. We’ve gone this far, we need to see it to the end.”

These are stories and experiences of a missionary woman, trying to shine in the midst of a dark world. Just like a star shines in the night, illuminating the way. Reflecting not her own light, but getting her light from the greatest Light of all, Jesus! Please be a star for Jesus.